The Hidden Life
by zabani-chan
Summary: What if Cloud had a life that no one knew about? What if Zack was somehow brought back? Clack pairing yaoi Read the disclaimer-important.


The Hidden Life

zabani-chan

**Disclaimer: do not own FF7. If I did, then Zack would have never died. Anyway, this is a piece of a story that I have no idea where to take it. It just kept buzzing around in my head until I finally decided to type it out.**

**IMPORTANT – anyone who feels like they would want to to take it over, feel free. Just let me know so I don't accidentally think your trying to 'steal' it from me. ^_^**

**NOTE – for anyone reading/keeping tabs on my other stories, I am still working on the next chapters to them all. I apologize for taking so long, but a lots been going on. Had a temp job in Oct. at a Halloween store many have probably heard of – Halloween USA. After Halloween is over, no more job. So the job-hunting continues. Then my birthday rolled around, then Thanksgiving a few days later, then Christmas. ….yay.**

**Anyway, here ya go. Hope you enjoy. **

**- - - - - - - - **

The battle was over. Sephiroth was gone – for good, they hoped, his remnants were gone, Cloud was missing after the explosion, and for some reason no one could explain, even the man himself, Zack was back among the living. Now, everyone sat around 7th Heaven trying to adjust to the fact that their friend(Tifa, Barret, Sith, Nanaki, Vincent, Reeve, Yuffie)/lover(Zack)/adopted father(Denzel)/brother-of-sorts(Reno, Marlene)/son-of-sorts(Cid)/comrade(Tseng, Rude, Elena) was gone. With him missing and no sign being found anywhere near the explosion wreckage, they had no way of knowing if he was ever coming back.

"Man....bring out the alcohol, Tif. I wanna forget this ever happened. Even if for only a night or two..." Reno grumbled from his stool, voice muffled with his face pressed against his crossed arms that lay on the counter.

Tifa said nothing, mind blank and body automatically gathering the supplies needed from memory. The others lounged around, each lost in their thoughts about Cloud. Barret had already moved the distraught kids upstairs, waiting until they had fallen into a fitful sleep before coming back down. Zack had to be the worst off, and they all knew it. They had learned from him that that the two had been lovers before the Nibelheim mission, and then Zack had died not long after he escaped with Cloud from Hojo's lab. Then he comes back four years later to watch his lover 'die' in the explosion with no way to help him. They could begin to understand the pain he was going through then, waking up in the _Shera _next to Tifa and then looking below in time to see Cloud shot and then caught in the explosion.

Now, he sat away from everyone, face blank and eyes emotionless as he stared at nothing.

"I wonder if Cloud is even dead, yo." Reno spoke, voice clearly heard as he say straighter and held the bottle of beer in front of him. Everyone, including Zack, looked at him with mixed emotions.

"I mean.....just 'cause we didn't find anything, doesn't mean he's dead. Maybe he just got sent somewhere. Ya know how he was always tuned in to the freakin' Mako and Lifestream."

He had point, they knew it, but they also didn't want to get their hopes up in case he was wrong.

"Say your right. Where are we supposed to look first? You told me that ever since Meteor, there's been a lot of Mako streams popping up everywhere. He could be anywhere in Gaia." The fact that Zack spoke at all shocked them, and when they looked at him, they could see in his eyes that he had broke through the pain and the grief of losing Cloud and pushed it deep inside.

Reno sighed and let his head hit the counter.

"Shit. Good point. I didn't even think of that..." he groaned.

"We could always start where the highest concentration on Mako and Lifestream pools are." Rude stated.

Before anyone could say anything else, the door opened and a tall man walked in. He wore travel-worn baggy brown pants, boots and T-shirt and had short-cropped chestnut hair and almond eyes. He stopped short in the doorway and looked around, eyes weary at the large group of people.

"Whatcha want, gramps?" Reno demanded, "Bar's closed for a while. Can't ya read?"

The man glared at him darkly, and spoke in a deep, country voice.

"I can read just fine and I ain't old. My name is Russel and I'm looking for Cloud Strife."

The reaction he got told him something wasn't right. Everyone in the bar had looked away and tears had filled the female's eyes, the redhead took a long drink of his beer, and all the guys had clenched their fists. It seemed the woman behind the counter got her wits about her first.

"What do need Cloud for?"

He stared at her for a moment.

"I'm here to deliver a couple of things from Mrs. Strife."

This also got unexpected reactions. The readhead choked on his beer, the guy with spiky raven hair fell out of his chair and the others stared at him wide-eyes.

"I...I'm afraid you must be mistaken. Cloud's not married."

"Well, then 'm here to prove you wrong. Mrs. Strife clearly told me her husbands name was Cloud and that he lived in Edge."

"But....how's that fuckin possible?! Spikey-head never told us he was married!" Barret burst, slamming his hand on the table.

"What did she want delivered? Why didn't she come here herself to see her.....husband?" Reeve asked, wearily looking at Zack, making everyone else, except the delivery man, do the same. To know they were once lovers only to find out that the one living had gotten married. He had to be hurting. But once he sat back down after standing and picking his chair up, they could see that he was happy Cloud had apparently moved on after his 'death' and had a family.

"I'm sorry to say that Mrs. Strife had recently passed away due to an illness. She wanted me to deliver this letter," he held out an envelope, "and their son, Alex."

He reached behind him and pulled kid beside him. They starred at the small child, who could be no older than two or three. Short, spiky blonde hair and pale skin made him look almost exactly like Cloud, but when he shyly looked up and they were met with vibrant green eyes, they were shocked into silence. Russel broke it.

"Now, I was instructed to give the letter to Cloud, and if he wasn't around at the time – I heard from her that he ran a delivery service was hardly home – that I was to read it to his closest friends, who were most likely going to have to look after Alex until his father returned."

"Cloud......we don't know for sure yet, but we think he's dead." Zack spoke. Russel looked at him, as did everyone else.

"You 'think' he's dead?"

"He was shot and caught in an explosion not long ago, but we have yet to find him." Tseng said, glancing at Alex.

"You know, usually when someone's caught in an explosion, it means that there won't be a body to find." Russel said. What hope they had was shot down slightly, but they couldn't tell the man about Cloud's close connection to Mako and the Lifestream. He'd think they were crazy.

"Well, since he's not here, I'm gonna read the letter." he opened the letter and and unfolded, everyone waiting to hear it's contents with bated breath.

"_Dear Cloud, _

_I know it's only been a week since you last visited me here in Costa del Sol when you warned us about the upcoming battle. I remember you telling me and Alex that you might not be coming back, that you weren't sure you would make it or not. I told you I understood, and though Alex is only two, I'm sure he understood, too. Anyway, I'm not sure if you'll get this right away or not since I don't know if the battle's started or not, but I'm writing this to tell you that I've been sick for a while now. It wasn't so bad before, only mild coughing and a few mild headaches every once in a while, but it suddenly got very bad. I was admitted to a hospital after Alex and Russel found me unconscious in our house, and I found out I didn't have long to live. _

_They told me they didn't know what was wrong with me. That there were so few cases of my illness that no research was conducted to find a solution for it. I guess that means its extremely rare. I wrote this when I found out I only had a couple of days left, at most. I had Russel help Alex pack a few things and take him and this letter to you, as you are his father and only relative. _

_Enough of that, though. I wanted to tell you when you visited, but you had more important things going on at the time. I hope you don't mind that I did it, but I told Alex everything you told me about Zack._ (at this, Zack smiled softly)_ Alex liked hearing about your old lover and wanted to meet him, and I couldn't find the heart to tell him that he was dead. You told me you didn't want to forget Zack like so many others had, and I didn't like the fact that someone like Zack was so easily forgotten. So I thought, what better way to help Zack's legacy live on then to tell Cloud's only son about his father's hero? Maybe you should take Alex to visit Zack's grave when you go next time. I'm sure he'd like that. _

_I have to go now, the doctors have me on a regular schedule for sleep and I am getting tired. Please take of Alex as best you can. He already accepts the fact you won't be home often because of work, you know that after all the times he's told you he want to be what you are when he grows up. And I don't want you to blame yourself for my death, like I know you will. This was something neither of us expected, and there was nothing anyone could have done, no matter what. You have a son to take care of now that I won't be able to, and you need to focus on that instead. As always, I love you with half my heart and I know you do to. _

_Keen_

Everyone was silent after Russel was done reading the letter. She sounded like a nice lady, and she seemed to know Cloud very well, judging by that last paragraph.

"What did that last sentence mean?" Cid asked.

Russel looked at him.

"I was old friends with Keen, so I was sometimes over at her house when Cloud could visit. I asked them what they meant when they told each other that before he would have to leave again, and they told me it was because, in their words, 'Half my heart belongs to the one I'm with now, while the other half belongs to the love I lost.'" he said.

"That sounds beautiful..." Yuffie sniffled. Tifa nodded, tears in her eyes, too. Zack sat their in silence for a moment before standing. They looked at him as he walked over to Russel and bent down in front of Alex.

He smiled gently and held out his hand.

"My name is Zack. It's nice to meet you."

They thought his eyes would pop out if Alex's eyes got any wider. But then he lowered them in shyness and starred at the ground, shuffling his feet and offering a muttered "Hi." in return. Zack smiled a bit wider.

"Just like his dad when we first met." he chuckled and stood, holding his hand out to Russel.

"Like I said, I'm the Zack that's supposed to be dead." he said. Russel stared at him before grabbing his hand and shaking it firmly.

"Why aren't ya?"

"Good question. Thought I was dead until a few hours ago."

Russel grunted, letting go of Zack's hand and turning his attention to everyone else.

"I'm gonna leave Alex here in your hands since you all seem like close friends of Clouds. I'll tell you know, this boy is the most polite two year old I've ever know. He's shy and awkward around new people for a while, and he's not a big people-person. 'Like's his solitude' is what Keen said, while Cloud told me 'He's like me when I was younger'. I figured it must be true, since Cloud was silent and just starring at me when we first met when Alex was born. I'll tell you, he sure looked awkward holding a newborn baby, like he afraid he'd drop him if he didn't hold on tight enough or brake him if he too tight." he chuckled, and everyone joined in when they pictured it. Alex just starred at them wide eyes, as if not sure if they were sane or not.

"Anyway, I've got to be back in Costa del Sol in time for Keen's funeral." he bent down to Alex and put a hand on his blonde head, "You listen here, kid. You be good for them, okay?"

"Yes, sir." Alex smiled and nodded. Russel nodded and stood, ruffling Alex's hair as he left.

*********8

Aaannnd that's where my mind goes blank. I can't, for the if of me, figure out where to take this. For anyone who wants to take up my offer the disclaimer-important, here is Keen's bio:

Name: Keen Strife (Durac before she was married)

Age: 22 (when she died)

Birthday: August 23rd

Hair color: golden brown

Eye color: vibrant green

Skin color: tan

Personality: adaptable, altruism, creative, honest, loyal, nurturing, serious (at times), sincere

Bio: Keen was born and raised in Costa del Sol. Her parents died when she was 14, and not long after, she met her first husband, Fin River. They were married a year later, and had no kids. Fin was killed in a boating accident as sea during a storm. She met Cloud on one of his deliveries to Costa del Sol a year and a half later (when she was 16 going on 17), they married a year and a half later. Nine months later, Alex was born. Not long after she turned 21, signs of her illness started appearing – mild headaches and coughing.

Short Russel bio -

Name: Russel Pen

Age: 24

Birthday: June 5

Hair color: chestnut

Eye color: almond

Skin color: dark tan

Personality: rough, calm, honest, loyal, serious, kind

Bio: a long time friend of Keen. He thinks of her as a younger sister. His parent's were close friends of hers, so he knew her since she was born. Was by her side all through her parent's death and Fin's death. Was skeptic of her marrying Cloud at first, but after meeting him and seeing how happy they were (and knowing how strong Cloud was, being Gaia's Savior and all), and silently approved.


End file.
